


Strange Tides

by blackhcles



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Friendship, Kate is only mentioned, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, same with max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22644862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackhcles/pseuds/blackhcles
Summary: Nathan doesn't have the soulmate he wanted. Warren just wants to find his own.
Relationships: Grahamscott - Relationship, Warren Graham & Nathan Prescott, Warren Graham/Nathan Prescott
Comments: 2
Kudos: 67





	Strange Tides

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sinn_vs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinn_vs/gifts).



> Thanks to prompts.neocities.org, I was given a prompt I just COULDN'T resist! Here was the prompt I was given:  
> "Soulmate AU where the first words your soulmate says to you are written on your wrist or somewhere and while Warren has an absolutely unhelpful 'hey' written on them, Nathan has something very unique and weird."  
> Hope you enjoy!

_ It was the first day or so of Nathan’s sophomore year. The previous year had been one of trying (and failing) to fit in. He’d determined that the entire school his dad owned was a joke, really. Everyone was a poser or trying much too hard, and the teachers were ass. Everyone but a certain Mr. Jefferson were people he hated. _

_ Nonetheless, Nathan had a tad bit of confidence going into this year. Over the summer, he and Mr. Jefferson had met multiple times, and Nathan’s “hobby” of photography had grown into more than that. He’d become a good photographer, and quick. He’d found his inspiration and grown, and now he was more than just a shy freshman with a knack for photos. He was Nathan Prescott, and, as Jefferson had told him, he was a damn good photographer. He felt ready for this school year, no matter how much of a loner he was. That, and he wasn’t a freshman any longer. He wasn’t going to be the laughingstock just for his age. _

_ Warren Graham, however, was the new one. Excited, smiling, and walking as fast as his long legs could take him, he sped by other students who certainly didn’t share his enthusiasm. He’d always been a gifted student, all the way from kindergarten to now. He excelled especially in science throughout his entire school career and now was no different. It was no question as to if he should be at Blackwell or not. He showed the grades they wanted, the love for knowledge they wanted—hell, pretty much everything they wanted—and so, he was accepted. Once he was, his parents were so kind as to move him out to Arcadia Bay. He lived in the dormitories, now. _

_ Finding the dorms, though, was the hard part. Being new, he had little to no idea where anything was, but as soon as he’d try to ask someone, it was like he wasn’t heard or wanted. If someone had heard him, they just gave him a look before walking off wordlessly. _

_ Needless to say, he was lost. This is what led him to pace around aimlessly, like a lost tourist too afraid to ask anyone for help. The heart that beat within him started doing so faster and faster as time went on. All he needed to do was get to the dorms. Was he that stupid that he couldn’t just— _

_ “Hey!” Yelled some voice unknown to Warren as he quickly backed away to whatever—no, whoever—he’d run into. _

_ The single word sent a jolt through his nerves. A word so simple was one to remember; it was the very word written upon the inside of his wrist, in some sort of black ink that never erased. _

_ The concept was simple. Everyone was born with the first words their soulmate would say to them written on the inside of their wrist. Once you met that person, it was supposed to be love, or at least friendship, at first sight. Ever since Warren was little, he’d longed to find his soulmate. The only thing was… the only word he had was a simple “hey.” It was a popular greeting. Every time he’d thought that maybe, maybe… the person was nothing but a friend. He seemed to think nearly everyone could have been his soulmate, only to find out that he was no one’s soulmate. _

_ And, recently, he’d mostly given up. He doubted that he’d find his soulmate in middle school. Was high school going to be the same? _

_ “Hello?” He heard the male he’d bumped into shout, waving a hand in front of his face. Whatever trance he’d gone to, he was now out of, and the nerves he’d had previously only increased. He kept edging backward, as if fearful, and the boy only seemed to look angrier. _

_ “Uh—” Warren stammered, realizing now that this probably wasn’t his soulmate. Or… maybe it was. Maybe they would just start off on the wrong foot. _

_ Before long though, Warren was nervously blurting words out like word vomit in an anxious rant, something he did on autopilot whenever events like these happened. _

_ “Er—Don’t you think it’s, like, so weird, how our brains don’t actually feel pain? I mean, of course, we process pain, but we don’t… feel it. If that makes sense,” said the male, his tone shaky due to the utter panic he felt. He swore he was going to receive another black eye, or be pushed down to the ground or something, but the boy in front of him, seemingly older, just froze. _

_ Nathan knew those words from anywhere. It was hard to forget the words written on your wrist since birth, and with the words being about the fucking brain not being able to feel pain, it was virtually unforgettable. And now, the very speaker of them was standing in front of him. _

_ He didn’t exactly have an exact estimate of whoever the hell would say such a weird thing as their first words to someone, but if it were anyone, he would not have guessed it would be a teenage boy who’s barely hit puberty yet. He more pictured it to be a hot nurse, like their first words to each other were some sex thing… or something like that. _

_ Alas, a teenage boy had indeed said them, and he was left dumbfounded. No way his supposed soulmate was a boy. The world really gave him a guy as the person who was supposedly supposed to be his lover, or whatever. _

_ He couldn’t like a guy in that way ever. No way. _

_ No words were exchanged between him and the male after the fact had been blurted. Nathan simply grumbled and then stormed off. With this, Warren was left alone once more to figure his way around the school. _

________________

Ever since their introduction to each other, Nathan only felt contempt and anger toward Warren. It wasn’t even the poor boy’s fault they were seemingly soulmates. It was just fate. _Nothing_ could change such a thing, yet Nathan thought he could. If he just pushed him away—acted like he hated him—surely, he’d want to get away from him. No one wanted to be around someone like him, minus a select few. Everyone else hated him, and he’d torment Warren until he made him feel the same. That way, there was _no_ _way_ the boy could ever fall for someone like him.

It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was a plan, nonetheless. It went well, too, for a while. Physical violence had been incited, even. It seemed Warren Graham hated his guts, which was just what he’d wanted. Finally, he wouldn’t have to worry about having a soulmate who was a  _ guy _ . It had all fallen into place.

That is, all until one seemingly regular afternoon. Warren had bumped into Nathan in the dorms on his way out, to which the older male reacted poorly to. He still kept up a strong act, not wanting to make it seem like he was letting up. It started off with simple shouting, but then, it turned physical. The nerdy boy had landed the first punch, his anger getting the best of him despite it being an abnormal occurrence. It wasn’t entirely anticipated by Nathan, however, who stumbled backward and grabbed at his cheek. After he’d rolled up his sleeves, he was attacking back as if he hadn’t even faltered. Attempting to land a punch back at Warren, he was blocked by the boy’s hand, which had caught his fist. This only allowed flashing hot anger to fuel him more, pushing him backward with ease against the wall. The brawl only continued from there, at a stalemate between the two. Every time Warren would land a hard blow, soon enough, Nathan would too.

This continued until finally, Warren had been able to overwhelm the other with strength, knocking him down to the ground. He practically straddled Nathan, using one arm to pin his right wrist down and the other to try and land a few final blows to expend his anger. However, before he could, he noticed the etchings of a familiar set of words scrawled upon the other’s wrist. Confusion came over as he read it. How did someone as terrible as Nathan Prescott even have a soulmate?

_ Don’t you think it’s, like, so weird, how our brains don’t actually feel pain? I mean, of course, we process pain, but we don’t feel it. If that makes sense. _

His eyebrows just furrowed, and he sat there for a second, one arm still raised high, his hand balled into a fist, ready to strike another few blows at Nathan to really show him what he deserved when a realization came over him.

He knew that piece of information. He was almost certain, too, that besides maybe Brooke acknowledging it, he was the only person who’d ever said it out loud to anyone.

So… hold up. He…  _ He _ said that, didn’t he? Did this mean—?  _ No way. _ He was Nathan Prescott’s soulmate, wasn’t he?

Immediately, he got off the other.

“No, I-I hurt you. I’m not supposed to hurt my  _ soulmate _ . Jesus Christ—” He murmured, standing, and then attempting to help his newly-found soulmate up. Nathan didn’t like such an attempt, getting up himself before grumbling.

“You weren’t supposed to  _ know _ .” He spat, eyebrows furrowed in anger at both Warren and the world. Nothing went the way he wanted it to, did it? Of course not, because he was Nathan Prescott, and whatever god existed wanted to see his downfall. So, whoever they were, they were going to torment him until the end of time. It seemed that way.

“What do you mean I wasn’t supposed to know? I’m your soulmate. Doesn’t that mean that you’re  _ my _ soulmate? You can’t just not let me know about this! We’re supposed to get along, not—not fight like this. You  _ really _ didn’t want me to know… huh?” He asked, his voice getting softer the more he talked. It upset him a lot that he had been lied to these past few years. Every angry interaction he’d had with Nathan was another interaction he spent hating his own soulmate. He even complained about Nathan to Max, before he’d found out she wasn’t his soulmate and was instead Kate Marsh’s.

Of course, he’d been  _ convinced _ that he and the girl were bound to be together. The words on his own wrist matched what she’d said to him when they first met. She was pretty, kind, and funny, and he’d thought it had been meant to be. Then, she mentioned finding her soulmate—the soft-spoken religious girl who’d been through too much she didn’t deserve. Truly, Warren  _ was _ happy for them, but such a thing hurt, no matter how much the two fit like a puzzle piece.

But now, he was here. He was meeting his soulmate after breaking his face in, like the absolute  _ asshole _ he was. He should have known it was Nathan!

Yet, without the boy telling him, there was no way to know. He’d been clueless until now because Nathan decided not to say anything.

“You—you don’t understand… I don’t want a  _ guy _ to be my soulmate, okay? I—I’m not—" He didn’t seem to be able to get the words out, but he was defensive about it clearly. It was also painfully obvious what he was going to say, anyway. Warren could do nothing but look down. He… understood, being the kind person he was, but it didn’t make him feel super great. His own soulmate was hiding right under his nose.

“You should have told me, Nathan. We could have worked it out. I mean, hell, soulmates can be just friends, you know. It’s not like I’m going to immediately kiss you or something like the movies. We could have done  _ something _ . I hurt you, and you just let me. And you hurt me with no remorse, and—and that hurts more than any of the punches you threw at me.” Warren said, his eyes locked with the other’s as his confidence grew. Inside Nathan, a sour feeling developed.

Then, he was left alone, guilt running through him as the usually happy-go-lucky boy dashed away.

It was a day later that Nathan knew he had to do  _ something _ about this. He couldn’t allow Warren to feel like shit. The storm he’d created was rapidly going to grow, but he wasn’t going to let it get out of control.

He was at the boy’s dorm early on a Saturday morning, hoping he was awake, with the intent to apologize as soon as the door had been opened. Surely enough, it was opened, and he started to schpeel.

“Hey, Warren… I’m sorry. I fuckin’ suck at words, and I suck at people, too… But I mean it. You deserve a soulmate who actually accepts you as their soulmate. I mean, fuck. But… I guess what I’m trying to say is… if you want, I want to try to be better at this whole ‘friends’ thing with you. You said that soulmates don’t have to date and shit, so… let’s start over?” He spoke, the end of his words sounding more like a question rather than a statement. Still, it was one that Warren would gladly answer with a smile as if he’d totally forgiven the other’s actions.

“That sounds good, actually. I honestly don’t even know what I’m doing, anyway, with all this ‘stars aligned’ stuff. I’m more of a practical thinker, even if I’ve been trying to find you for the past ten years of my life,” He chuckled, his hand coming up to rub at his neck in a nervous fashion. Nathan truly felt relieved over the fact that they had agreed to drop their previous actions for some sort of friendship with each other. It was going to be really weird, maybe at some points awkward, but it’d be something he’d be willing to do. They were both confused over the whole thing, and didn’t really get it, but, hey, who said they couldn’t work it out together?

“So,” spoke Nathan, “Two Whales tomorrow night?”

“How about we just have a movie night, dude? I’ve got more pirated films than you can count. My room.” Warren suggested, raising a playful brow.

“I have a projector we could hook up in my dorm,” the older male quipped, a small grin on his own face. With that, the nerd just had to agree.

“You got it, Prescott.”

**Author's Note:**

> Miiiight just make this into a mini-series, miiiight make it into a small fic. I'm not sure yet, but I'm in love with the AU, and the thought of them as soulmates makes my heart woosh. I'm sincerely sorry that I've worked on this and not the very overdue forth chapter of Outlaws--I swear it's coming soon.  
> Hope you enjoyed <3


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